Voting concludes for Phase 4 of Lok Sabha polls
What's the story
The fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections saw a voter turnout of 62.31% by 5:00pm on Monday.
By 3:00pm, West Bengal led with the highest voter participation rate of over 66%, while Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest at just under 30%.
However, the election day was marred by reports of violence from Andhra Pradesh and Bengal along with instances of poll boycotts in some Uttar Pradesh villages due to lack of development.
Election disruptions
YSR Congress Party leader manhandles voter
In Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party leader and Tenali MLA A Shiva Kumar allegedly manhandled a voter following an argument.
Additionally, an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was destroyed in Dalavaipalli village in Railway Kodur constituency.
Reports also surfaced of EVM malfunctions in West Bengal and Odisha, leading to over a thousand complaints from various political parties alleging issues with the voting machines and agents being barred from entering booths.
Phase 4
96 constituencies went to polls
As many as 96 constituencies went to polls on Monday.
Notably, all 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh and 17 constituencies in Telangana witnessed voting today.
Polling also took place in 13 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Maharashtra, eight in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, five in Bihar, four in Jharkhand and Odisha, and one in Jammu and Kashmir (Srinagar).
Polling regions
First general elections in J&K since 2019
The election in Srinagar was the first parliamentary election in J&K since the region's special status was removed in August 2019.
The two biggest mainstream parties in the region—the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party—have fielded Aga Syed and Waheed Parra, respectively, as their candidates.
Aside from Srinagar, other key constituencies to watch out for in Phase 4 are Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh; Vijayawada and Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh; Indore, Madhya Pradesh; and Pune and Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
2024 polls
Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha
In addition to the polling for 96 parliamentary constituencies across 10 states and UTs, assembly elections for all 175 seats in Andhra Pradesh and 28 seats in Odisha was also held simultaneously.
The result for both the Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be announced on June 4.
The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections will kick off on May 20, the sixth on May 25 and the seventh on June 1.